The Lycanthrope Club - An American Werewolf in Japan, Epilogue

Dr. Tsuru slowly walked along the narrow alleyway, his wrinkled face solemn; grave, even. He sniffed and glanced to his left and his right. Although the sun had long since set the hazy light emanating from the windows, paper lanterns and multicolored backlit signs arrayed haphazardly along the alley provided enough illumination to see by. Most of the businesses were pocket-sized restaurants and bars, nearly all of which were open despite the late hour. Some were empty. Others had a handful of customers - faint silhouettes cast on curtains and opaque windows. The lane itself was all but deserted. The smells of Izakaya cuisine wafted in the air. 

The alley grew darker. There were fewer restaurants and bars and more shops, offices and tiny dwellings - all closed for the night. The muted din of the barflies and restaurant patrons faded to nothing, leaving only the distant, omnipresent rumble of the city. Eventually, the alley bifurcated into two lanes equally narrow as their parent. Dr. Tsuru took the right path. It was even darker here. Yet no more than twenty meters ahead stood a ramen stand. It was quite small and traditional - no more than a four-stool open-air bar situated behind flag-like curtains. Though illuminated by only a solitary orange paper lantern and a flickering fluorescent light it gleamed in the darkness. Dr. Tsuru paused for a second, staring at the tiny restaurant, then made his way towards it.

The proprietor nodded at the doctor as he took a seat.

"Hey there. What can I get you?"

"Shoyu, please," said Dr. Tsuru.

"You got it."

The doctor sat there patiently, his expression blank, unchanging, as the proprietor prepared his meal. The sounds of sizzling water and soft chopping filled the air. Minutes passed. 

Someone took a seat next to Dr. Tsuru. The doctor tilted his head slightly. He hadn't even heard the newcomer footsteps. He was well-dressed, tall, and stately. He looked to be in his thirties or maybe his early forties yet his hair was starting to grey. 

The proprietor, in the middle of retrieving something from the shelves, glanced over his shoulders.

"Oh, hello. What can I get for you?" he asked.

"Okinawa soba, please," requested the stranger.

"Coming right up."

The two men sat there for a time in silence, neither so much as exchanging a glance. Eventually the proprietor brought Dr. Tsuru's meal, soon followed by the newcomer's. The two reached for their spoons started eating. A minute or two passed. Then, the newcomer, after swallowing, spoke.

"You'll be pleased to know that Shen is gone," he said quietly.

Dr. Tsuru paused, a spoonful of ramen centimeters from his mouth. Then, he continued eating. 

"Did you bring an additional sample?" queried the newcomer.

The doctor finished chewing and swallowed before responding.

"Yes."

"Thank you, but we have no more need of it. Dispose of it as you see fit."

The doctor turned his head and gave the newcomer a strange look.

"Your government thanks you for your service," he continued, lowering his voice further. "You took on great risk. Now it is our turn to help you. The syndicate is already disintegrating but there remains the possibility remnants of the organization will reach out to you as a former associate or seek revenge for a perceived betrayal. We will keep an eye on you for the foreseeable future. If you suspect you are in danger contact us immediately the usual way. I advise against travel outside Japan for at least a year, particularly Southeast Asia."

Dr. Tsuru nodded almost imperceptibly. He reached down and felt something small and hard in his coat pocket.

"You never actually explained how it works," said the doctor.

"No, we did not."

"Some kind of bioinformatics, perhaps." said the doctor, almost to himself. "Some new generation genealogical database. I heard they caught a killer in America using such a method. Though I don't believe Shen or any of his relatives had their DNA sequenced. An indirect relative, perhaps? Or am I entirely off?"

The newcomer was silent. 

"It is frightening technology," mused the doctor. "But in truth, we've known the power of blood for centuries. Blood knows, blood remembers, blood binds."

"As you say," said the newcomer vaguely. 

"I do not, as a rule, ask questions," said Dr. Tsuru. "Questions unrelated to medical concerns. But...that business at the home in the outer suburbs and the love hotel."

The newcomer said nothing but stared at the doctor, waiting.

"Did you lose many men?"

The newcomer did not reply at first. There was, for the briefest instance, something resembling a grin on his face, which had, up to this point, been deadpan. 

"We lost no-one," he said. "One of our men did have to be...reassigned."

"Was he hurt?"

"Yes."

"A shame." The newcomer cleared his throat. "Incidentally, when was the last you spoke with Mr. Shen or his associates?"

Dr. Tsuru helped himself to another spoonful of ramen before answering. 

"Hmmm...twenty-nine days. I remember it well because it was an unusual call."

"Unusual?"

"Mr. Shen wanted a physical," said Dr. Tsuru. "He didn't exactly say why but he seemed very...excited."

"Mmm, may be worth looking into," said the newcomer. "Did he ask for anything else?"

"No."

There was a long pause. Neither man touched their meal.

"That's enough for me," said the newcomer, now speaking normally. He reached into his pocket and left a collection of paper bills and coins on the counter. "I've been watching my calorie intake." 

He rose and dabbed his lips with a napkin. He bowed briskly but politely to the proprietor, thanking him. He then turned and bowed to Dr. Tsuru, who nodded in return.

"Good night."

With that, he walked off into the night, leaving his half-full bowl of Okinawa soba on the counter. Steam was still rising from it. 

The doctor did not watch him go. Instead, he turned back to his meal, finishing every last drop. 

"Very good," said Dr. Tsuru. "I may even keep coming back here."

He produced a small wallet from his pocket, carefully counted out his payment and placed it on the counter. Having paid for his meal, the doctor rose, bid the proprietor a good evening, and left. He did not go the way he had come but continued further along the dim alley. 

A minute or so of walking later, the doctor stopped. A figure had emerged from the shadows no more than a couple meters ahead of him. It was standing directly in his path. The doctor's eyesight was not particularly good and the figure had materialized in a particularly dark stretch of the alley. All Dr. Tsuru could tell was that the figure was a little shorter than him. And Dr. Tsuru wasn't a particularly tall man.

The figure did not move or say anything.

"Who are you?" asked the doctor.

The figure stirred. It took a few steps forward.

Dr. Tsuru's eyes widened in surprise. It was a teenage girl with short-cut hair wearing a black sweater and long, dark-grey pants.

"What are you doing out so late?" asked the doctor, relaxing.

"I'd ask you the same," said the girl.

"I'm an adult; you should be getting ready for school," said the doctor.

The girl shrugged.

"So...when did you start informing on Mr. Shen for the government?"

To his credit, Dr. Tsuru did not flinch, blink, or otherwise exhibit any outward sign of shock or surprise. He was, in fact, very shocked and very surprised. That is why it took him a while to form a response.

"...From the very beginning, as it happens," he said quietly. He gazed around uneasily, fruitlessly. Something was happening here and he was tired of playing the fool. "I didn't want to. Help Shen, that is. Even back in the Philippines I only treated his lackey because of my Hippocratic Oath. I didn't turn him over to the police there because I knew he would take revenge on me and my family. I thought I had seen the last of him when I returned to Tokyo. Then, months ago, he visited my practice." He shook his head sadly. "A very strange man. He treated me as though I were family." He glared at the girl. "I ask again: who are you?"

"Someone who knows you're hiding something."

The doctor frowned.

"Hiding something?"

"You were there - at the love hotel," said the girl, folding her arms. She didn't look angry or even accusatory. "Just before w-...just before Shen died. And you did more than just give Mr. Shen a physical."

"You were eavesdropping," hissed Dr. Tsuru. "Or bugged the ramen stand."

"Mr. Shen asked you to do him another favor," continued the girl. "He knew you used to be a medical researcher, not just a doctor. He showed you something and asked you to take a sample."

Dr. Tsuru was silent.

"Do you still have the sample?"

"How do you know this?" said Dr. Tsuru slowly, taking a step back.

"Because the person you took the sample from wasn't unconscious. She even heard your name spoken."

The doctor actually shivered this time.

"I...couldn't have helped her."

"We know," said the girl. "She's fine, by the way."

"That's...that seems unlikely," said Dr. Tsuru. "She suffered extension blunt trauma, lacerations, burns both third and second degree, removal of several fingers and, I would guess based off what I saw, internal bleeding. Unless she had been rushed to a hospital immediately after I left I don't see how she could still be alive."

"So you haven't examined her blood yet."

"I..." the doctor trailed off. He looked uncertain. 

"Do you still have it?"

"Yes," he snapped impatiently. He shut his mouth, looking slightly abashed.

"You're still hiding something," said the girl, taking a step closer. "The question is why."

The doctor took a deep breath and sighed. Then, saying nothing he turned to walk away. 

Two other teenagers were standing in his way. Dr. Tsuru gasped and froze dead in his tracks. He hadn't heard them or seen any sign of them. One was a surprisingly tall, athletic-looking long-haired girl with a frighteningly intense stare. The other was a boy, fairly average on the whole, though there was something unnerving about his gaze, just like the other girl's. Both wore a school uniform, though the girl had augmented her ensemble with a long black coat. 

"Do you work for...the syndicate?" he breathed, not quite believing he was asking this. None of them could be any older than a high school senior. And he was fairly certain they were Japanese. 

"Mmm, nope," said the girl from behind in a bewilderingly casual manner. 

The doctor turned back around to face her. He then nervously glanced back at the other two, unsure who to keep his eyes on. 

"Look, we don't want to hurt you," said the shorter girl. "We aren't going to hurt you. We just want the sample. Her blood."

"Why?" yelped the doctor.

"You still haven't answered her question, old man," said the older girl suddenly. Her voice was sharp, powerful - like a blade. "Why are you hiding it? Shen is dead. The syndicate is falling apart. There is no more syndicate, at least in Japan. You said you didn't want to work with him in the first place. Why are you still protecting his interests?"

"I sold it, alright!" yelped the doctor, half-terrified, half-angry.

The alleyway was silent. Somewhere off in the distance, a siren flared and then slowly faded away.

"You sold it," said the older girl - a statement, not a question.

"An...associate of Shen, he called himself," said the doctor miserably, lowering his head. "He called me a couple of days after the incident at the love hotel. He offered me a fantastic sum. Too much, in fact. And implied if I didn't agree he would reveal that I worked for the government to the remaining members of the syndicate. In retrospect, I don't think he knew I betrayed Shen. It was only a guess; he just happened to be correct." He paused. "I don't really need the money so I suppose it would be more accurate to call it blackmail."

"You could have gone to the agency," said the boy in a calm voice. "They could have protected you."

The doctor looked up. "Given all that has happened, forgive me if I don't have complete faith in our intelligence agency," he said bitterly. "Even if I had confidence in their ability to protect me I would have spent the rest of my life locked up in some safe house, always watching my back. I just wanted it to be over. Getting rid of the blood seemed to be the only way out. Interesting as it was."

"So you did examine the blood," said the younger girl.

"The serum had some unusual markers," said the doctor. "Some normally associated with leukemia, but the combination was nothing I had ever seen before. The white blood cells were remarkably resilient and stable. I would have liked to study them further."

Dr. Tsuru heard a soft footstep behind him. The older girl was approaching, her gaze fixed upon him. The doctor stood stiffly, watching her closely while avoiding looking into her eyes. 

"You're still hiding something, old man," she hissed. "I can smell it on you." 

The doctor said nothing. His lower lip was quivering.

"You kept some of the blood," she said. Dr. Tsuru swore he saw her eyes flash yellow. "It would have been the easiest thing in the world. Send some to this buyer and keep the rest for yourself. Again and again we ask this question and again and again you don't really answer. Why?"

"Because...it was...interesting," sputtered the doctor. 

"Interesting?"

"Yes! That's it. I am a doctor was a researcher. My curiosity has dulled, but not been extinguished."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"He's telling the truth, Masae-san," said the boy. 

"Better late than never," said the older girl.

"So, what now?" asked the younger girl. "If the blood is gone..."

"Tell us who bought it," demanded the older girl.

"I don't know. I was told to leave it at a dead drop - a garbage can at a train station not too far from here - and I did. I never saw anyone and the phone the buyer used was an unlisted number. If I heard his voice again I might recognize it. That's all I have!"

There was a pause.

"This isn't good," said the boy, shaking his head. "Whoever bought the blood clearly knew what it can do."

"Should we tell Kensaku-san?" asked the younger girl. "Or at least Lily-san?"

The older girl seemed to consider this.

"Lily-san, yes, but not Kensaku-san," she said finally. She gave the doctor a look. "Because, if we tell Kensaku-san he may put two and two together, eh? Lily-san is in a better position to look into this."

Dr. Tsuru's lips tightened. He nodded.

"I have a proposal for you," said the older girl, addressing the doctor. "You keep the blood, but do not, under any circumstances, give it away or sell it. You can study it. We may even give you more if you want. But if you learn anything, you only tell us. By the way, be especially carefully not to contaminate yourself with it. It could be fatal for a man of your age."

"But...the intelligence agency," said the doctor. "They'll be watching very closely."

"Let us worry about them," said the older girl. 

Dr. Tsuru sighed. It was a long, deep, breathless sigh - almost a death rattle. 

"Very well," he conceded, lowering his head. "It seems my service has not yet come to an end." He looked at the younger girl and then the older girl and the boy. "Could I at least know who you are?"

The younger girl smiled wryly. 

"The Lycanthrope Club of Inuyama Senior High School," she announced.

The doctor stared at her. What d-

"No, no, no," protested the older girl suddenly and angrily. "We haven't agreed on our name yet!"

"But...it's what we are, basically," said the younger girl.

"It's too long and sounds too foreign," said the older girl, folding her arms. "We need something shorter and...and stronger - something that befits our organization."

"...I liked it," said the boy. 

"Well I don't," snapped the older girl. "And our name has to be unanimous."

"How about...the Shadowbeasts of Inuyama?" suggested the younger girl.

"Tch, sounds like something a grade-schooler would come up with," sneered the older girl. "We can do better than that. And this is hardly the time!"

"I...have to agree," said the boy.

"Taro-kun!"  

Dr. Tsuru stared at the trio. A moment ago they had been as focused and menacing as the criminals he had been forced to deal with not too long ago. Now they were bickering like...well, petulant high school students. 

"Fine, fine," sighed the younger girl. "But this isn't over!"

"At least we agree on that," said the older girl, clearly irritated. "And where do you think you're going?" she said, whirling around.

The doctor had been slowly backing away. He stopped.

"Just continue your research," said the boy. "We'll check on you every so often. Don't let anyone else know what you're researching. It's...very dangerous. Very powerful."

"I...sensed this. I will do my best," said the doctor. 

"Good."

With that, the three strange high schoolers turned - the younger girl in one direction, and the other two in the opposite. The doctor stood there in the middle of the dark alley, bewildered, unnerved but strangely intrigued. As he watched the young girl walk away his eyes widened. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but he could have sworn he saw a long, bushy tail wagging behind her.